Google will block adverts from websites offering pirated content in an effort
to cut off revenue from illegal activities in the US

Google, Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft are among the eight companies that are committing to fight internet piracy.

The move will allow industry copyright holders in the music, film, television, books and other creative ventures to alert Google should their adverts appear on illegal sites. This would allow Google to erradicate the problem of pirated content without having to modify its search results.

Websites offering illegal music and film downloads attract huge amounts of traffic through Google each month, and tend to attract the young demographic advertisers aim to target.

Adverts on these websites is a lucrative means of income, as the sites can bypass setting up merchant accounts with financial transaction agencies like Mastercard and PayPal. If Google pulls advertising from these sites, it will effectively remove a considerable measure of revenue.

Research by Google has found that advertising funded 86 per cent of music filesharing sites, and a study by the University of Southern California revealed that the search giant and Yahoo were two of the biggest advertisers on pirate websites.

Victoria Espinel said in a statement: "We believe that this is a positive step and that such efforts can have a significant impact on reducing online piracy and counterfeiting," and that the Administration was "committed to reducing infringement of American intellectual property".

The move was, she said, "A good example of how the public and private sector can work to combat piracy and counterfeiting while protecting and, in fact, further encourage the innovation made possible by an open Internet."

In 2011, Visa, Mastercard and PayPal, cut off all donations to WikiLeaks, the controversial website headed by Julian Assange, which blew the lid on a string of government secrets by publishing classified information online.